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Meat, Dairy Drive Producer Prices

NEW ZEALAND - Higher prices for lamb, beef, and dairy products helped lift prices received by manufacturers, but they also paid more for raw products and power, Stats NZ said today.

Overall, producer output prices (the prices producers get for their goods and services) rose 1.3 per cent in the June 2017 quarter, while input prices (the costs producers pay) rose 1.4 per cent.

In the June quarter, meat product manufacturing and dairy product manufacturing rose 6.9 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively. Dairy cattle farmers also received higher prices (up 5.8 per cent), due to higher farm-gate milk prices.

In the June quarter, producer input prices also rose, mainly influenced by dairy product manufacturing prices (up 4.6 per cent), while meat product manufacturing prices were up 6.5 per cent.

Both input and output prices for electricity and gas supply rose in the June quarter (up 8.5 per cent and 6.9 per cent respectively). These increases were influenced by higher prices for electricity generation, partly arising from a dry winter. Higher output prices for electricity lead to higher input costs for other industries.

In the June 2017 year, producer output prices increased by 5.2 per cent, and producer input prices increased by 4.7 per cent.

Business prices manager Sarah Williams said: "In the June year, prices received by dairy cattle farmers were up 53 per cent due to a rise in farm-gate milk prices, from $4.25 to $6.50 per kilo of milk solids.

"This was still lower than the March 2014 quarter peak, when forecast milk prices were $8.65.

"In the June 2017 year, prices received for manufactured dairy products, such as butter and cheese, were up by 35 per cent."